Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Teach aether theory

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Monday he believes schools should discuss "intelligent design" alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life.

During a round-table interview with reporters from five Texas newspapers, Bush declined to go into detail on his personal views of the origin of life. But he said students should learn about both theories, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported.

"I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought," Bush said. "You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes."

We should have enough faith in our kids to trust them to make up their own minds when presented with two theories. After all, this a democracy; shouldn't the majority rule? Teach the gravity controversy.

Gravityism makes no sense. The dogmatic Newtonists would have us believe that things fall because of an invisible force, that we are unable to copy or reproduce in the laboratory, that pulls things together, with little things falling inevitably toward bigger things. If hold my coffee cup out at an arm's length and let go, the cup falls down and not towards my chest. Yet my chest is bigger than the cup and closer than the ground. If there was anything to this "gravity" stuff, the cup should fall towards me. The Gravityists will try to say that the cup falls towards the Earth because the Earth is much bigger than me. But why doesn't the cup fall towards the Sun which is much larger than the Earth. Gravityism defies common sense.

Gravityism is just a theory. And it is a theory that is in crisis as an increasing number of scientists have begun to question it. A single invisible force is not enough to explain how things really work. In their desperation to save their theory, the Newtonists have had to make up additional invisible forces like "dark matter" and the "cosmological constant." Why is this magical "gravity" a better explanation than the pressure of aetheric monads pushing down from above? Both theories should be taught.

Whenever the "scientists" need to explain something, the make up some magic invisible force. Why are "germs" a more reasonable answer for explaining disease than the wrath of God? Both theories should be taught. Why are diet, hygiene, and "medicine" more reasonable cures than prayer? Both theories should be taught.

What are the Newtonists afraid of?

Update:Pharyngula is keeping track of everyone who is speaking out on this. It makes for some good reading.